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September 4, 2013

NAPFA Taps Leitz as National Chairwoman for 2-Year Term

Chosen as chair-elect in January, Linda Leitz of Colorado Springs will focus on membership development and education

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors announced Wednesday that its board of directors has elected certified financial planner Linda Leitz to be national chairwoman for NAPFA’s 2013-2014 board term.

Leitz (left), who is founder and co-owner of the fee-only financial planning firm It’s Not Just Money in Colorado Springs, Colo., had served since Jan. 31 as NAPFA’s chair-elect. Leitz was a member of the NAPFA West Region Board and has presented at conference sessions.

In her new role, Leitz will advance NAPFA’s “grand goal” of becoming “the recognized and unquestioned leader in supporting the professional growth and business development of extraordinary financial advisors.”

She plans to focus on two objectives:

Enhance NAPFA’s membership communities, providing more opportunities for members to develop their practices and share their experience with one another.

Broaden and strengthen NAPFA’s educational offerings, including the spring and fall national conferences, the new NAPFA-Forbes iConference, webinars and regional symposiums.

“I am honored that the board has chosen me to lead this group of extraordinary professionals during a time of growth for both the association and the fee-only profession,” Leitz said in a statement. “I am excited to use my experience within NAPFA and most recently as chair-elect to help this association achieve key objectives and continue to offer the highest levels of service to its membership.”

Leitz succeeds CFP Lauren Locker, who filled the position of national chairwoman after Ron Rhoades stepped down from the position after committing a compliance violation.

“Lauren has been an incredible advocate for NAPFA and the fee-only profession, calling on all of us to continue pushing the fiduciary standard to the forefront,” said NAPFA CEO Geoffrey Brown in a statement. “Under her leadership, we made our membership standards even more rigorous by requiring all NAPFA-registered financial advisors to hold a CFP certification.”

In addition to being a CFP, Leitz is a certified divorce financial analyst, and is enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service as an enrolled agent. Her career in financial services includes experience as a state bank examiner, banker, investment registered representative and branch manager. She has a degree in business administration from Principia College and an MBA from Southern Methodist University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the personal financial planning program at Kansas State University.